|
"Bravo!...a captivating look at a poet and poetry, engaging without the usual hush of stuffy reverence." SAN FRANCISCO FILM FEST
At 80 years of age his enthusiasm and energy for life is infectious. Poem in Action portrays the forces which forged him as a poet: his life as an immigrant's son and factory worker, the Great Depression, the Communist Party and the poetics of place.
Shot over a period of eight years, filmmaker Henry Ferrini provides a nephew's eye-view of his uncle's personal journey. From "the last surviving proletarian poet" to the "conscience of Gloucester," Vincent Ferrini's work spans five decades. Living outside the academic community, he speaks to literary and non-literary people alike. His magnetic presence and unyielding creativity make for an energizing example of the artist as a citizen. This is not a portrait of the poet as reclusive or diffident but as a spokesman, social activist, teacher and historian.
Poem in Action probes the magical space where life and literature synergistically intertwine as it explores the poet's commitment to the unity of art and life.
|
|
